In The Name Of Hezbollah: Al Manar TV

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All Rise...

Judge Daryl Loomis runs a TV station with a dedicated mission to destroy New Age music.

The Charge

The television network banned in the United States

The Case

On June 3, 1991 from Beirut, Lebanon, Al Manar TV began broadcasting its own
brand of programming. Then, they were a mere few media students broadcasting
their anti-Israel message through Beirut but, within only a few years, have
become one of the most widely seen Islamic media networks in the world. A fully
self-avowed arm of Hezbollah, the network does not deny their spread of
propaganda and does not deny that their intentions are to aid in the destruction
of Israel. In the Name of Hezbollah: Al Manar TV pretends to expose this
fact but, since nobody on Al Manar's end denies it, the documentary fails to
make a point on any level.

If anything, this film is nothing but propaganda in itself. The film
presents no hard facts about anything it says. At the start, it speculates on
the budget for the station by saying that, though Al Manar TV claims its budget
at around 11 million Euros, it is "probably ten times more." Probably?
They don't say for sure because the network is "secretive." Who is
funding the station? They don't know this either, but "probably from Iran
and various terrorist organizations." This all may well be true, but
speculation is not the best path toward an objective case. Putting statements
like this so close to the start of the film puts much of what comes after under
suspicion. When trying to expose propaganda, it's best not to use those tactics
yourself. Moreover, I don't trust the translation, which starts in Arabic, is
then verbally translated into a French voiceover, and the English subtitles are
translated from that. This game of telephone with the languages doesn't
guarantee any relationship between the Arabic and the English. Even if the
translation is accurate, the film is more like propaganda as a result.

I guess, if there is something positive to say about this documentary, the
raw footage is interesting. Al Manar TV is a banned signal in the U.S. and in
much of Europe, accused of inciting hatred toward Jews. There isn't much arguing
that point; they say as much as this when asked. Because of this, the footage
from the network, from news to magazine shows to children's programming, is all
but unseen by us Westerners. I appreciate the opportunity to see what they
broadcast, but I sincerely wish it had been presented with a little objectivity.
Instead, their subjective stance falls in line exactly with that they accuse Al
Manar of.

In the Name of Hezbollah: Al Manar TV is presented by SKD in a
bare-bones, barely touched release. The anamorphic widescreen image and the
stereo sound are both adequately clear, but this is a cheap production and it
shows in the limitations of picture and audio. I don't trust the subtitles, as
I've written, but they are fairly accurate to the French language audio track.
There are no extras.

It's amazing how easily a perceived enemy's propaganda can be turned into
one's own. By showing us the propaganda and only telling us about how dangerous
and untruthful it is without giving any facts to back it up, this documentary
proves that point. I'm not for a second going to support what Al Manar TV
espouses, but this documentary only manages to undermine any reasonable contrary
viewpoint.